Arquis was thrilled at their proximity, but he was saddened by the weakness of his smile. “Would you like some privacy so that you can write? I might take another bath. They tend to help, especially since it is still very cold outside.”
The truth was that he had no idea what to do with all of this free time. He’d never had so much of it before. He felt like a marionette doll that’d been dumped into a cabinet, abandoned to collect dust. For years he’d been yanked around, forced to put on a performance for the wealthy and powerful. There were always letters to write and gifts to send, events to arrange and parties to attend. Quirisa never did her part and Marsiquia was too young to be involved in most of the Palace’s big decisions, so he’d had to carry most of the work load. And that was outside of his already rigorous education schedule. It was a miracle he’d ever found any time for himself.
He shrugged a little bit. "I don't need privacy, but, uhm, yes. You can take a bath if you like." he replied, walking with Arquis as the two headed back to their room. "Thank you, darling." they also wanted to play some music, if they could; their lute probably needed to be retuned after being in the cold and sitting on the floor in its case.
Arquis nodded, but he was too deep in thought to say anything more on the matter. They eventually passed by Divinity, who gave them a wave and a smile, before reaching their room. Everything was exactly as they’d left it.
He took a pair of clean clothes from his luggage and folded it into a neat stack. It smelled of lavender. He breathed in the familiar aroma with closed eyes, as if savoring a particularly flavorful meal. For some reason, he was almost homesick. He didn’t really miss the Palace, but he missed the familiarity of it and the potential of what it could have been. When he was a really young child, he’d imagined that he’d travel the world, meet a beautiful bride, and return to take care of his parents in their old age. He’d also imagined selling his art and becoming a distinguished painter. For just a moment, he basked in that childish fantasy, then let it go.
“Alright. Let me know if you need anything, love,” he murmured.
He took a deep breath, picking up the note supplies and giving Arquis a faint smile. "I will. Go take your bath, darling." they replied softly, sitting down on the bed and leaning back against the headboard. "And…thank you, love. For everything." he picked up his pen, uncapping it and getting to work on his letter.
Arquis turned his head to look at them for a moment, then smiled. “Of course.”
The bathroom was much colder than he’d expected. The tiles were icy, and he had to resist the urge to hop from foot to foot as he went to turn on the tub. Even the counter, which he tentatively leaned against, was freezing. He was glad to find that the water grew hot rather quickly; he wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time waiting for it to get warm.
Once the tub was ready, he began to get out of his clothes. He hesitated when it came to his shirt and undergarments. Rin was in the other room, so they technically wouldn’t see him undress. But what if he had an issue and needed Arquis for something? Or what if he decided he wanted to join, as he had the other night? Surely they would knock, and he would have enough time to make himself decent before letting him inside. He dumped in enough bubble soap to obscure anything below just in case they didn’t—emergencies did happen, after all—and finished getting prepared. Then, he lowered himself into the water.
Rin worked on his letter, pouring out some of his frustrations in the letter to his best friend. Ari might be able to give them some advice, but at least he would be there. The two had been friends for years, and Ari had been there for them since they were both very young. So Ari was used to hearing Rin talk about things, though not usually or always about abuse, whether or himself or of others. Rin just wanted to talk with someone else about what was going on with Honey; get an outsider's advice.
Arquis sank into the hot water with a long, appreciative sigh. His body wasn’t particularly sore, but his lungs were still struggling with the cold air. It had been better that day because he hadn’t gone outside much, though it wasn’t just the weather that had been troubling him. The nightmare lingered in the back of his mind like a sour smell, popping in when he least wanted. Sometimes, he swore he could still feel scratchy pillow stuffing clogging up his throat.
And then there was the matter of Honey. Mentally, he recalled the way the man had acted around them. He wondered who had put it in his head that his primary use was to serve others—or that he should have a use at all. Arquis understood what it was like to feel in debt to another, to feel that one was only good for completing tasks. But this situation was somewhat different. It was closer to what Rin had gone through than himself, and he felt horrible that Honey felt trapped in it. He didn’t simply just not have help; he’d made himself believe that he didn’t want it, either.
The swirling thoughts began to feel heavy in Arquis’s mind, and he tipped his head back onto the edge of the tub. A few seconds passed. His eyelids began to drift shut. Somewhere deep down, he knew that it was a bad idea to fall asleep around water. He also knew that he’d gotten plenty of sleep already and that he should be productive in some way. But the exhaustion that seeped into him didn’t care about these facts. Before long, he was asleep.
(timeskip?)
Rin kept writing, letting out a soft sigh as he kept writing his letter to Ari, spilling about all the different things that had happened to him in the past few weeks. It was…a lot, and the letter got longer than it normally was. He took a deep breath, then folded it up and picked up a battered, beaten envelope that looked like it had been to hell and back. It was one of two identical envelopes; Ari had the other envelope, and somehow the other man's magic connected the two. A letter put into one envelope appeared in the other. So Rin put his folded letter into the envelope and closed it up, then set it aside again.
(wait Arquis might drown if there’s a big time skip lol but I’ll do a mini one and then we can maybe do a bigger one in a bit if that sounds good!)
An unknown amount of time passed before Arquis woke up again, and he only did so because his head hit the water. He jolted awake, grabbing the sides of the tub with both hands and letting out a sharp, terrified gasp. His vision took some time to clear due to the water dripping into his eyes from his soaking hair. Because he couldn’t see clearly, he was certain that he was in the scene from his earlier nightmare. Drowning. Alone. Unable to speak, barely able to think.
The last of the soap cleared out of his gaze. He remembered where he’d been and what he’d been doing before he fell asleep. Still trembling from fear, he cupped his hands over his face and took a few deep, steadying breaths. The echo of it sounded loud in his ears, but not louder than his pounding heartbeat. Which didn’t make sense. He was fine. Everything was fine. He wasn’t dying. He was fine.
(lol oof)
Rin was reading again, curled across the bed with his book in his hands. Every now and again he would glance up, look around, then return to reading as he waited for Arquis to be done in the bathroom. He knew Ari would see the letter sooner or later, and so he could expect a response in a few days from now. Ari liked to take his time in writing responses sometimes, and Rin didn't mind that.
Arquis stood, snatched a towel, and wrapped it about his waist. He drained the tub before stumbling to the mirror. His reflection was foggy, but he could tell he didn’t look well. He was a bit wild-eyed, and his cheeks were splotchy with color. His hair was also a soggy mess. Using a different towel, he dried it, then combed through it with his fingers. Before he went into the other room, he spritzed some cologne from one of the gift baskets onto his wrists, then changed into his clothes. The outfit he’d chosen was a plain shirt with long, surprisingly soft pants. That must’ve been Quirisa’s doing. He didn’t own anything so comfortable.
He entered the bedroom quietly and joined Rin on the bed. As much as he was trying to hold himself together, he could feel his composure beginning to crack. He didn’t say a word as he rolled onto his side away from them, trying to act like nothing had happened. If he couldn’t see him, they wouldn’t know anything was wrong. Not that anything was, of course. He was fine. He’d just been startled. That was all.
Rin set the book aside when Arquis entered, turning to the other man. "Hello, darling. Did you have a good bath?" he rolled to lay facing Arquis, reaching out to him, then pulling his hand back. "Is anything wrong?" normally Arquis would have spoken to him when he entered the room, and they weren't sure if anything was wrong or not.
Rin’s voice brought him to the present. He’d been spiraling quite a bit, but he wouldn’t admit that. Not after such a horrid day. He was raised to know better than to let a single nightmare tear him apart. For a while, he’d had them almost every night. He would be alright if he could just keep it together.
“My apologies, love. I suppose I was lost in thought.” Not a lie. His mind really had been wandering, though it’d been wandering steadily downhill. He didn’t have to say that part aloud.
“What did you ask? Oh, yes, that is right. The bath was fine.” Technically also true. The bath itself was alright. The water had been warm enough, until he’d dozed off. Then, it had grown cold.
“I think I fell asleep in it for a while,” he said, faking a soft laugh. “How did the letter writing go? Did you make any progress?”
Rin listened quietly, wanting to reach out to Arquis but unsure if Aruis would be okay with that. "Well, thankfully you did not drown." they replied. "It went quite well, my darling. I sent it to him, he should pick it up pretty soon." they glanced at the envelope sitting on the side table, then realized that Arquis would not understand what that would mean. "Oh– that envelope is, ah, linked to a second. His magic is a little bit complicated, but essentially…the letters that I put in that envelope appear in his, and any he puts in his will appear in mine. Anything larger than the envelope I would have to send the old-fashioned way." they gave Arquis a faint smile, still wondering if anything was wrong.
Arquis eyed the envelope curiously. It didn’t exactly look like anything special, but he wasn’t one to question magic. Abilities were abilities. They were all messy, and he wouldn’t dare mess with them. He turned his focus away from the envelope and onto the ceiling.
“That is a rather convenient system,” he remarked. He began to wonder what would happen if the envelope was ripped or damaged in some way, though he would never do such a thing. Would Ari be able to make another? Did they have some sort of backup plan? He wouldn’t ask. That specific question sounded suspicious, as if he had plans to answer it for himself.
Arquis finally looked over at Rin, but only for a second. He rolled over so that he was near him and buried his face in their chest. That didn’t quite feel close enough. He slotted one of his legs between theirs and slung an arm around his waist. Better, but there was still something off. He sighed quietly. It would have to do.
"Yes. It works quite well, though the envelope is starting to wear out." He replied, wrapping his arms around Arquis and holding him close. They pressed soft kiss to the side of Arquis's head, quite content to just hold him. "You sure everything's alright? You seem a little out of sorts." They were much calmer now than they had been earlier, though Honey's situation still upset them whenever they thought of it.
Arquis let out a noncommittal sound. If he’d said yes then he would by lying, but if he’d admitted that something was wrong then they’d be concerned. So he’d chosen the neutral option and decided to change the subject.
The first idea that came to mind was to move up and kiss them, which was what he did. Not on the mouth, as he hadn’t gotten permission for that, but right on his brow. He kissed over to one side and brushed his lips down to their jaw. He gave a very light kiss to each mark on his neck before moving downwards still to their collarbones. Rather than go any further, he stopped and looked at them, waiting for him to say something.
Rin's eyes flickered shut when Arquis began to pepper kisses across their skin, eyes opening again when he stopped. "Is, ah…" They trailed off, unsure what Arquis was waiting for. "Are you waiting for permission?" He finally asked, cupping Arquis's cheek with one hand, stroking their thumb along his cheekbone. "Because if so, you have it." They leaned in to give Arquis another kiss, smiling softly.
Arquis groaned when they kissed him, and he moved against him urgently. He did the thing that he’d done earlier, biting their bottom lip and gently tugging, then swiping the tip of his tongue over it. After that, he crashed back into them. He wondered if his own mouth still tasted of sugar and chocolate from the cake pop he’d had. The thought almost made him laugh, but he was a bit too busy to actually do so.
“Rin,” he murmured when he finally pulled away. One of his hands ran up their chest and stopped right in the middle, just above his stomach. His pupils were blown out; his expression was dreamy. This had been the perfect distraction. He felt much less tense. “You are so gorgeous, my dear. Every part of you.”
Rin cleared their throat faintly, smiling as they kissed Arquis again. "As are you, my darling." they rubbed Arquis's back gently, smiling very softly. Arquis did indeed taste of sugar and chocolate, and Rin found that they did not mind. He took a deep breath at the soft touch of Arquis's hand on his chest; their shirt was still unbuttoned.
Arquis’s breath caught in tandem with Rin’s due the compliment. He smiled when he realized why they had gasped and, still making eye contact, replaced his hand with his lips. He pressed three kisses to that spot before pausing.
“I am so lucky,” he whispered, mouthing over their bare skin, “to have you in my life.”
And then he pulled away for real. If it were any other night, he might have gone further. But they had been through a lot that day, and he wasn’t certain what Rin would want. Even if they’d seemed pleased with all of the kissing and attention, that absolutely didn’t mean that he would want more. Arquis himself wasn’t even sure what he wanted. His body said one thing, but his mind was all jumbled.
Rin froze at the kisses for just a moment; not a bad freeze, just a surprised one. "Oh." they breathed, reaching to bring Arquis in for another kiss, this one deep and a bit heated, but still sweet. "Darling…" they trailed off, unsure what else to say. He didn't press Arquis to go any further, letting the nobleman choose what he did and how far they went together.
That last kiss was a little much for Arquis, but not in a bad way. He shifted away from them and rolled flat on his back, breathing heavily. His cheeks flooded with color as he pulled the blankets around himself.
“I am not sure that I will ever get used to that,” he admitted with a quiet laugh. Part of him regretted taking a bath beforehand. His flushed skin would benefit from a quick, cold dip. “No matter how many times we engage in that type of behavior.”
He reached out a hand, tucked it just under one part of his shirt, and spread it over their heart. His fingers lovingly traced patterns over his shoulder, and he wrote their name, then his own.
Rin smiled a little bit, holding Arquis close. "Ah, darling." they said softly. "I don't know how to respond to that, other than that I think that that is absolutely adorable." he nuzzled Arquis's cheek, smiling, and reached up to put his own hand on top of Arquis's.
“Adorable?” He swallowed and defiantly shook his head, pretending as if the praise hadn’t done anything for him. One had to keep up appearances, after all.
The weight of their hand on his made him smile. Then, as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him, he realized the intimacy of the gesture. Hand on hand over heart. Over skin, as well. He inhaled softly and worried his bottom lip in his teeth. His hand began to retreat.
“That was not fair of me,” he sighed. “My apologies, love.”
